12:51
by Pontius Pilates
Summary: AU BBxRae: Garfield Logan makes a bet with Victor Stone; he bets he can win any girl's heart, including Rachael Roth.
1. 12:51

**HI! I am the author of 12:51 a.k.a Orange Inferno, but unfortunately I can not access my old account (it's been 3 years and I have literally forgotten my email, so no chance for password recovery!) I'm going to move all of 12:51 to this account, and continue it here! While I'm already reposting these, I'm going to fix some small grammar/continuity errors I've been dying to fix.**

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_Talk to me now that I'm older_

_Your friend told you cuz I told her_

_Friday nights have been lonely_

_Change your plans and then phone me_

**[][][][][][][][][][][]**

_Rachael Roth swung happily on the swings, her pigtails flying about as she soared through the air. Her electric blue eyes were bright with happiness and a smile had made its way to her face. A strap to her jumper was loose and the smile she bore showed off a newly missing tooth. Her mother, Arella Roth, happily chatted on the bench with Marie Logan. Arella and Marie had arranged a play date between Marie's son- Garfield Logan- and Rachael. Instead of the desired results though, Rachael was happily swinging by herself while Garfield socialized with all the other kids on the playground. _

_"Hey Roth!" a voice called out to Rachael. _

_"What do you-" Rachael was met with a mudcake to the face, courtesy of Garfield. Rachael stopped swinging, tears threatening to escape._

_"Haha! You should see your- OOF! Owww!" Garfield said in pain as Rachael kicked him in his nether regions._

_From that day forth, Rachael Roth and Garfield Logan were declared sworn enemies. _

**[][][][][][][][][][][][][]**

"Kori!" Rachael snapped, as her red headed foreign friend continued to blabber about her "adventure" at the mall. Kori Anders was a tall girl with tanned skin. She had long, flowing, lovely red hair and beautiful green eyes that seemed to light up whenever in the presence of something "good". She often wore bright, flashy colors and summery clothes. She was from a country far, far away and had an accent that was barely detectable unless you squinted real hard. Rachael Roth on the other hand, was the complete opposite; she had pale, almost ghostly skin, short black hair and icy blue eyes. She had a cold, calculating, monotonous voice and a permanent scowl etched on her face. She often wore dark colors and autumn clothes.

"I am sorry, was I boring you?" Kori asked innocently. Rachael sighed and shook her head, her onyx locks shaking with her too.

"No. I'm just tired Kori." Rachael said, closing her locker up.

"Oh, I am sorry for your fatigue then, Rachael!" Kori said, bowing. The naive innocence of her friend made a small smile appear on the always gloomy girl. That is, until Garfield Logan walked by. The scowl returned to her face and she narrowed her eyes at the tall, blonde boy. He was one of the so called "bad kids". He hung out with the wrong crowd, broke rules and was the all around prankster. Two years ago he had even dyed his hair green. His mother made him shave it off of course and it was slowly growing back. Rachael hated him ever since that play date at the park eleven years ago and he did too. They were sworn enemies, often throwing snide comments at each other in the halls, or in Garfield's case, pulling pranks on Rachael.

"Hey Roth, how's the cult going?" Garfield snickered, receiving laughter from his friends.

"It's going better than your GPA." Rachael retorted, shoving her hands into her jean pockets.

"Whatever Roth."

"Goodbye Logan." Rachael sneered, walking off into the other direction with Kori.

"He is a cruel, cruel boy." Kori said, giving him a dirty look.

"You're telling me." Rachael scoffed, as they descended from the High School. The California sun was shining down on the two as they began their trek home. Kori was Rachael's neighbor, which was how they became friends in the first place.

**[][][][][][][][][][][][][]**

_Rachael peered out the window, curiosity painted on her childish face. A moving truck was parked across the street from her house, and a family of four were beginning to get out of the car. First, a largely built man with gleaming red hair, then a tall woman with shining black hair. Next was a young girl with jet black hair and the same tanned skin tone as her parents. Rachael could tell she got her looks from her mother. Last, but certainly not least, was a red headed girl who looked to be about eight years old; the same age as Rachael. She had a stuffed elephant in her hands and a pleasant smile on her face. _

_"Mother!" Rachael called out, not taking her eyes off the new family. _

_"Yes sweetheart?" a faint voice called back from the kitchen. _

_"There's a new family across the street, may I go visit them?" Rachael said, excitement in her voice. _

_"Sure honey, just look both ways and be careful." her mother's voice replied. Rachael rolled her eyes._

_ "Yes of course mom, I'm a big girl." she said quickly, opening the door to her house. Next door, Garfield Logan was playing with his friends on the front yard. Once he saw Rachael emerge from the house, an evil smile spread across his face. He quickly muttered something to his face and they returned the same evil smile. His friends ran off to the back of the house to retrieve the item he had asked for. _

_"Hey Roth!" Garfield called out, a reckless grin on his face. Rachael glanced in his direction, sighing when she saw the caller of her name. _

_"What do you want Garfield?" Rachael said, exasperated. _

_"Oh, just turn about 45 degrees." _

_"What are you-" Suddenly, Rachael could feel a blast of icy water hitting her body like a torpedo. By the time they were done spraying water at her, she was soaking wet. Anger boiled up in Rachael but before she could wrestle the little brat to the ground and new voice began to rant. _

_"That is not nice!" The red headed girl said angrily, stomping over to Garfield. The blonde boy just laughed along with his friends. _

_"Yeah? So aren't a lot of things I do, ginger." Garfield said, doubling over in laughter. This seemed to only enrage the tall girl even more, her face turning red. _

_"I assure you that this will not be nice either." the girl said. With that, she punched Garfield in the stomach and marched over to Rachael, who was holding back tears of embarrassment and anger. _

_"What is your name?" The girl said softly. _

_"R-Rachael Roth." she sniffled, glaring at Garfield, who was clutching his stomach in pain. _

_"My name is Kori Anders. Come, let us get you inside." Kori replied, leading her into Rachael's house. And ever since that day, the two were inseparable. _

**[][][][][][][][][][][][][]**

"So, what'd you get on your science exam?" Rachael asked Kori as they passed a 7/11.

"I received and 86." Kori said shamefully.

"That's not bad!" Rachael said reassuringly.

"Really?"

"Of course not." Rachael replied, to which Kori smiled. She was very glad indeed that Kori was rather naive. Rachael fiddled with a button on her coat as they passed the library, running a hand through her jet black hair. A familiar chorus of laughter was heard behind them and Rachael groaned. It was Garfield again. From the corner of her eye, she could see Kori balling up her fists.

"I do not like them." Kori hissed.

"Neither do I, but I'd rather be civil than stoop down to their level." Rachael whispered back as Garfield and his friends caught up with Rachael and Kori.

"You are right Rachael." Kori said stiffly as Garfield shoved past them. He smirked at the raven haired beauty as she scowled at him.

"Sup losers?" Garfield said, his messy hair in his eyes.

"I think that comment should be directed at you." Rachael said dryly.

"I dunno man, I mean, at least I get dates." Garfield teased. Rachael's blood was boiling. His comment reminded her of someone she did _not_ want to think about.

"Yeah. The trashy, wasted, STD infected kind." Rachael shot back.

"Where's your excuse?" That comment sent Rachael over the edge as she ran at Garfield, fists clenched. Luckily, Kori caught her by the arm and restrained her, Rachael struggling to get free.

"Let me punch him." Rachael growled, glaring at him as he laughed at her.

"Violence is never the answer, it-"

"Oh, hey there Kori. When are you going back to your country. You're a little bit of a sore thumb here." Garfield said. Fury was conveyed across Kori's face and with a sick smile, she released Rachael.

"Please. You're like five feet tall, how much damage do you think-FUCK!" Garfield moaned he crumpled to the ground holding his nether regions. Just like eleven years ago.

"Garfield, after eleven years, you'd think you'd know not to fuck with me." Rachael said, tsking as she walked away.

**[][][][][][][][][][][]**

Kori was sprawled across Rachael's rug, the gothic teenager herself sitting on her bed in a lotus position. Papers were strewn across the floor as the two went through their homework. Kori's strong point was math, whilst Rachael's strong point was English. Kori was helping Rachael with her math assignment while Rachael was helping Kori with an english assignment due on Wednesday.

"So, all you have to do is summarize the book." Rachael said, flipping through Kori's rough draft.

"I have not yet finished the book." Kori admitted. Rachael sighed. Kori was never good at reading, and at least she had a good excuse. But that didn't mean Rachael didn't get frustrated with her foreign friend from time to time.

"Right. What book were you supposed to read?" Rachael asked. The gothic girl herself was in AP English, while Kori was in regular English.

"I believe it was a book named Animal Farm." Kori answered. Rachael let out a relieved sigh. Luckily, it was a book she had already read. Pulling out a red pen from her pencil case, she wrote something down on loose leaf.

"Well that's an easy one. Animal farm was a symbolism for communism." Rachael said, writing down the summary of the book for Kori. There was a gentle knock on the door and in walked Rachael's grandmother. She had been her caretake ever since Rachael's mother died eight years ago.

"Dinner is almost ready, girls." her grandmother said gingerly.

"Thanks grandma." Rachael replied, not taking her eyes off Kori's homework.

**[][][][][][][][][][][]**

**Right so I did get rid of/change a few things because they either didn't fit or would make sense in the grand scheme of things. You should probably expect that on the rest of the chapters too.**


	2. Hotel Yorba

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_Well it's 1-2-3-4 _

_Take the elevator_

_At the hotel yorba_

_I'll be glad to see you later_

_All they got inside is vacancy _

**[][][][][][][][]**

"Friday night it is." Garfield Logan said with a grin as he handed a girl his number. His best friend, Victor Stone, stared on in amazement. Victor was tall-around six feet four inches- with a muscular build. He was African American and had chestnut brown eyes and an ever present smile on his face. Garfield and he had been best friends since they met in fourth grade, right after Garfield dumped apple juice on Rachael Roth's head. The girl Garfield was flirting with giggled and skipped away, an ecstatic grin on her face.

"How do you do that?" Victor said, bewildered. Garfield laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I can win any girl's heart." he said smugly. To this, Victor grinned. An idea was forming in his head...

"Any girl?"

"Any girl."

"Okay, let's bet on it." Victor said.

"Alright, what's the bet?"

"I bet you $50 that you can't win Rachael Roth's heart in one month." Victor said. It was an impossible task, they both hated each other after all, but Garfield was stubborn and Victor knew he would never turn down a bet, earning him an easy $50. Garfield seemed to hesitate a moment before giving in.

"And if I do win Rachael's heart?"

"I'll double the fifty bucks." Victor said confidently.

"You have a deal!" Garfield said, shaking his friend's hand.

[][][][][][][][]

"Do I really have to be here?" Rachael groaned as Kori looked through the racks.

"Please Rachael, I need assistance in carrying the bags." Kori said patiently as she handed the gothic girl an armful of clothes. She sighed but said nothing more on the matter as the red headed girl shoved more clothes in her hands. It was pretty much useless to argue with Kori when she was in one of her "shopping moods".

"What are these for anyway?" Rachael mumbled as Kori through a pink sweater at her. The red head shrugged and pranced around the store, picking out clothes in various shades of pink. After twenty more agonizing minutes, Kori was finished playing dress up and they left the store, dozens of bags in tow. Somehow, the peppy teenager was still teeming with energy; Rachael, meanwhile was exhausted.

"Oh Rachael, was this not most delightful?" Kori said happily as she paid for two sodas.

"Define delightful." Rachael said darkly.

"Delightful means fun; I thought you knew that." Kori said innocently. Rachael groaned and slapped her forehead.

"Thank you Kori." she sighed.

"You are very welcome!" Kori giggled.

"Hey there Rachael!" an annoyingly familiar voice said, surprising both girls.

"What do you want?" Rachael growled, not bothering to turn around. Garfield put on his best fake smile.

"I just came here to make amends" he said, still grinning. Rachael scoffed.

"Like hell you did. What do you really want? Wait, I just remembered; I don't care." Rachael said stoically, grabbing Kori's bags. On that note she began to walk away, furiously gripping the bags in her hands.

"I know not of what you are planning, but I can say leave my friend alone, you wicked boy." Kori said, throwing her drink into his face as she walked away. Victor laughed from behind him, nearly collapsing on the floor. You could practically see steam rushing out of Garfield's ears as he wiped his face with his sleeve. He glared at Victor, who was now dabbing tears away from his eyes as he continued to laugh.

"You got...you got rejected twice!" Victor laughed, trying to catch his breath. Garfield growled at him and grabbed a napkin from the table.

"Whew, good luck with that bet man." Victor said once he finally caught his breath.

[][][][][][][][][][]

"What's he up to now?" Rachael growled as she and Kori sat on her bed. The dark girl was still furious at the audacity of Garfield but at the same time curious as to what he was up to. Right now, Rachael was furiously tearing up papers on her bed while Kori concentrated on her homework.

"I suspect nothing of the good type." Kori returned, glaring at Garfield's house.

"It never is." Rachael sighed. Reaching over to her nightstand, Rachael grabbed her bookbag and pulled out a math binder. It was better to just forget about the incident and try to do her homework. After all, it was probably just another joke. Before she could grab a pencil, though, a large gray rock crashed through her bedroom window, shattering the glass. Kori just barely managed to move out of the way while Rachael furiously peered out her window.

"What the hell?!" she screamed at Garfield, who was innocently waving to her from her front lawn.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Rachael shouted, throwing the rock back at Garfield. Squeaking, he ran out of the way, the rock just barely grazing his shoulder.

"Get off my lawn you fucking lunatic!" Rachael said, snatching anything she could find at throwing it at him. Taking the hint, the boy ran screaming from her lawn and back into his own house.


	3. All Hands Against His Own

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_He saw the sky had turned to gray_

_And the clouds started rollin' in_

_Got no use for what they say_

_Got no use for where they've been_

**[][][][][][][]**

Days Left: 30

"Damn Garfield." Rachael mumbled underneath her breath as she cut another piece of silver duct tape. Kori had left a couple of hours ago and Rachael was trying to duct tape her window before the rain began to start. Glass was shattered on her maroon rug and books were scattered across her desk. Next door, Rachael's grandmother was talking to Rita Dayton about the damage he had done to her window. From where she was, Rachael could see Rita giving her grandmother an ashamed look and shaking her head. After placing the last strip of tape on her window, Rachael exhaled and examined her work. It looked messy and ghetto and just looking at it made Rachael's blood boil. Deciding that glaring wasn't going to change anything, the pale teenager closed the curtains and flipped on a light. Her room was an untidy mess, clothes and books strewn everywhere. It was in no way the condition that Rachael would like it to be. There was a gentle knock on Rachael's door and before she could say anything, Garfield walked in, hands shoved in his pockets. Rachael rolled her eyes.

"What, did you come here to destroy the rest of my room too?" Rachael said mockingly as Garfield glared at her.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

"What was that? Couldn't quite hear you over the sound of broken glass under my feet." Rachael replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I'm sorry." Garfield repeated, this time a tad bit louder. Rachael appeared to mull it over before smiling at the blonde teenager.

"You are not forgiven. Get the hell out of my house." she said, pushing him out of her room.

"What? B-But you smiled!"

"What can I say? I'm a lovely actress." Rachael replied, slamming the door behind him and locking it for good measure.

**[][][][][][][][][]**

"Mrs. Dayton offered to pay for the damage done to your window." Rachael's grandmother, Caroline, said as the two sat at the dinner table.

"Good." Rachael said curtly, pecking at her food.

"You know he didn't mean it." Caroline sighed.

"Yeah, sure." Rachael snorted sarcastically.

"He's a nice boy, really." Caroline tried. This time, Rachael nearly choked on her food.

"Like hell." Rachael muttered beneath her breath.

"Language, Rachael!" Caroline hissed.

"I'm sorry, I'm just...not really hungry. I'm going to go upstairs." Rachael replied. Caroline merely sighed and nodded.

"Don't forget to do your homework!" she said.

"Already done." Rachael replied as she reached the top of the staircase. That being said, she walked into her room, dreary eyed, and glared at the duct taped window she so despised.

"Stupid window." she muttered, picking up papers from the ground. She really did need to clean her room; it was quite messy after all. And littered with glass. Sitting cross legged on her bed, she pulled her laptop closer to her and typed in her password. Once that was done, Rachael opened her window, expecting to see an email from Kori on how to solve a specific math problem she was having trouble with. Instead, however, she found an email from someone she least expected and least desired.

_To:_

_Fr:_

_Ur an evil person u kno tht_

Rolling her eyes at the "internet speak" he was using, Rachael typed her reply.

_To:_

_Fr:_

_I may be evil, but at least I have a higher IQ than you._

_To:_

_Fr:_

_good i was starting to thinkn ud ignore this_

_To:_

_Fr:_

_If Darwin saw the human race now..._

_To:_

_Fr:_

_whos darwin?_

Rachael's eye began to twitch. Had he even remotely paid attention in Biology? Had he even so much as glanced at textbook at all these past four years?

_To:_

_Fr:_

_Congratulations, you are a moron._

_To:_

_Fr._

_im not a moron_

_To:_

_Fr:_

_This entire string of emails begs to differ._

_To:_

_Fr:_

_i resent that_

_To:_

_Fr:_

_Wow. Did you have to look at a thesaurus to figure that word out?_

_To:_

_Fr:_

_what the hells a theasurus_

Yet again, Rachael's eye twitched. She took a deep breath in and slammed her laptop shut. Never in her life had she met someone so moronic.

**[][][][][][][][]**

**As usual, the names in the emails aren't appearing so uh, just use context clues I guess? Sorry!**


	4. D is for Dangerous

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_D is for delightful_

_And try and keep your trousers on_

_I think you should know you're his favourite worst nightmare_

_D is for..._

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"That means nothing, moron." Victor said as Garfield recounted his emails form Rachael.

"What are you talking about? This totally means something!"

"Gar. She blatantly called you a moron. And she didn't even reply to your last email!" Victor replied.

"That can mean anything." Garfield responded, indignant. After all, he did NOT want to lose that bet. Before Victor had another chance to talk, though, a lanky, pale boy with greasy black hair, dark bags and almost reddish eyes passed by them. His name was Doug, and from the rumors that were swirling around him, he was apparently schizophrenic. He was rambling, as usual, and had on that filthy white jacket he wore every day.

"Walk faster. Walk faster! Do not make eye contact." Garfield hissed in Victor's ear.

"I kinda feel bad for him, don't you?" Victor whispered.

"I feel bad that his stench is polluting the entire school." Garfield whispered back.

"You're worse than Rachael, you know that man?" Victor sighed, readjusting the straps on his backpack.

"Psh. Sure. 'Cept everyone loves me." Garfield said, defending himself.

"...Suuuuuure. Let's go with that one." Victor laughed as they stopped in front of his locker.

"You're lucky you're my buddy, you know that?"

"'Buddy'? Jeez man, what's wrong with you?" Victor laughed as he unlocked his green locker.

"You're so funny." Garfield said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his friend.

"Thanks dude." Victor replied, unfazed. On the other side of the school, Rachael was at Kori's locker, staring at the abyss that was her friend's locker. A photo of her, Rachael and their other friends, Jenny and Karen, was tacked onto the door of the locker, along with other pictures of her and Rachael over the years. There was one from Halloween eight years ago (Rachael was a witch, Kori was an alien) one of them at their first school dance (Rachael looking unhappy, and Kori pretending that she wasn't) one was a picture of them on last year's field trip (Rachael was soaked from an incident she made Kori swear never to tell again.) and the last one a picture of two (Rachael included) smiling in front of the school. That one was taken during freshman year.

"Something is seriously up." Rachael said as Kori unzipped her backpack.

"While I do agree I think it would be best if you would stop thinking about it." Kori advised, neatly packing her books into her locker.

"I know it's just...I want to be able to get revenge for once." Rachael said, biting into an apple.

"But what if he is not up to something?" Kori sighed, closing her locker.

"Impossible; that moron is always up to something." Rachael replied, narrowing her eyes.

"Rachael, I loathe Garfield as much as you, but he seems as if he is trying to be nice."

"Right. Which means he's up to something." Rachael continued, walking into the classroom. Kori was the one to groan this time at her friend's paranoia.

"You are not getting it!" The upbeat girl said in paranoia.

"I think you're not getting it; He's. Up. To. Something." Rachael said slowly as she took her seat

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"You're paranoid." Jenny scoffed. Jenny Johnson was a skinny, pale girl with bright pink cropped hair. She wasn't one to take shit from anybody and often intimidated the people she met. Today she was wearing a black turtle neck, purple jeans and black combat boots. She wore pink blush on her face and her violet eyes were full of mischief.

"No I'm not." Rachael said defensively.

"Look, I never agree with the girl, but Jenny's right; get over it." Karen said. Karen Beecher was an African American girl who could pass for a model. She wan't as tall as an Amazonian super model, but she wasn't terribly short. Her curly black hair was held up in a tight bun that framed her face. She was wearing a yellow and black striped shirt, black leggings and loose boots. Rachael sighed and slapped her forehead.

"Whatever." she said dully, scribbling in her notebook.

"So...Jenny...how's Wally?" Karen smirked, her brown eyes gleaming.

"Shut up." Jenny said, almost shyly. Rachael nearly gagged; it was absolutely disgusting seeing her friends reduced to lovesick puppies.

"Come on girl, we all know there's something going on between the both of you." Karen continued. Kori smiled at Jenny as a furious red blush spread across her face.

"Oh wow. Excuse me while I gag." Rachael interrupted, saving Jenny from further torment from her friends.

"Rachael! Are you not well?" Kori gasped innocently.

"I'm fine. You didn't pick up on my sarcasm." Rachael sighed.

"Oh. Do you wish to accompany us to the mall next weekend?" Kori said, a pleading look in her eyes. Rachael almost wanted to say yes- anything was better than staring at a duct taped window for 24 hours; but she didn't have any money to spend at the mall so with a grimace, she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I have to fix my window." Rachael lied smoothly.

"Ugh. I swear, that dofus is going to end up sending you to the hospital." Jenny said, rolling her violet eyes.

"He already has." Rachael reminded her, pointing to the arm she broke in sixth grade when one of Garfield's pranks went awry.

"Mental ward? Has he sent you to the mental ward yet?" Jenny questioned playfully.

"Let's wait a few more weeks and see." Rachael said crossly. To that Jenny laughed, Karen smiled and Kori looked around in confusion. Before Kori could ask them any questions, the bell rang signaling the start of Rachael, Jenny, Karen and Kori's lunch period. Luckily for Rachael, she didn't share it with Garfield. Grateful for the bell, Rachael quickly scooped up her belongings and rushed out of the classroom, eager to have a few minutes to herself. Using her small stature to her advantage, she weaved through the crowds of babbling teenagers and arrived at her locker in a minute's time. Oblivious to the world around her, she hummed a tune and unlocked her locker.

"Hey Rachael!" a voice that she did not want to hear suddenly said, snapping her out of her trance.

"Dear god. What do you want?" Rachael said through gritted teeth, still facing her locker.

"Just came by to say hi...y'know...like a friend." Garfield said slyly. Rachael quickly whipped her head around.

"First of all, you are under no circumstances my friend. Second of all, I don't know what it is but you're up to something and I will find out what you're up to, even if it kills me." Rachael hissed. That said, she slammed her locker shut and quickly disappeared into the crowd, leaving a very frightened Garfield to think about what he just heard.

Once in the cafeteria, Rachael located the spot where she and her friends usually sat and walked over, fuming. Slamming her book bag down, she slid in next to Karen and narrowed her eyes at the door.

"Er...something wrong?"

"Just a douchebag, that's all." Rachael growled, her stomach joining in on her. Just then, Kori and Jenny appeared at the table with lunch trays. Rachael stared hungrily at the food on their plates until Karen snapped her out of it.

"Hey. Do you have lunch today?" Karen whispered.

"Well...no."

"Here." Karen replied, passing her a crumpled five dollar bill. Rachael looked up at her with grateful eyes and stood up from the table.

"Thanks." she whispered back, quickly walking to the lunch line. Meanwhile, Garfield snuck into the cafeteria. He'd told his teacher that he needed to go to the nurse for reasons he refused to discuss. He was determined to win this bet, even if it got him in trouble. Once he spotted Rachael's head he sped up behind her and tapped the pale girl's shoulder.

"What the fuck?! You don't even have lunch this period!" Rachael exclaimed as he paid for her lunch.

"Shhhh, no need to curse." Garfield said, leading her away from the line. She quickly shrugged him off.

"Get your hands off of me." Rachael hissed.

"Look, I...uh, just wanted to pay for your lunch!" Garfield said quickly.

"Are you fucking stupid? I literally just paid for my lunch. What the hell is wrong with you?" Rachael exclaimed.

"Come on, can't you just be nice to me." Garfield pleaded.

"Be nice to you? Be nice to you? Hmm, I suppose this is nice compared to all the shit you've done to me." Rachael hissed, picking up her plate of food and smothering it on his face. All eyes on them, Rachael walked calmly away while Garfield tried to process what the hell just happened.

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G**onna continue reuploading chapters tomorrow probably; I have to retype these so it does take a little while. **


	5. The Way It Is

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_I wish it was not true_

_But that's the way it is_

_It's not your fault_

_That's the way it is_

_I'm sick of you_

_And that's the way it is_

[][][][][][][][]

"Rachael Michelle Roth! Get down here immediately!" Caroline Roth yelled from downstairs. Rachael bit her bottom lip, a little nervous for the scolding she was about to get. Sure, she _did_ throw food in his face but he deserved it! After all, he broke her window and annoyed her endlessly. This was in no way her fault, she had rationalized.

Still in denial, Rachael sped down the stairs, where her grandmother was tapping her foot impatiently. Her lips were pursed and for the first time ever, she actually looked annoyed.

"Principal Wolve called today. Would you like to explain?" the elderly woman said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"An eye for an eye?" Rachael shrugged, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Rachael that is no excuse for what you did. I want you to go over there right now and apologize." Caroline said sternly. Rachael's mouth gaped open. Apologize? To him nonetheless? Not happening.

"No no no no no no. I am not going over there!" Rachael exclaimed, stomping her foot down in protest.

[][][][][][][][]][]

"Sometimes, I really hate you." Rachael muttered as she stood on Garfield's stoop. Almost as soon as her knuckles connected with the door it opened, revealing a smiling Garfield.

"Oh, hello there Rachael!" Garfield said, unusually upbeat. She rolled her eyes before exhaling.

"Sorry for throwing food in your face." Rachael said, avoiding eye contact yet again.

"It's okay!" Garfield said, a little too quickly for Rachael's liking.

"Really? That's it? No blackmailing, no anything?" she asked, genuinely surprised.

"Nope! Well actually..."

"Of course." Rachael said, rolling her icy blue eyes.

"Wellllllllllll...I figured that you could help me out with some English stuff. Or science. Or History. Pretty much everything. Cos I'm pretty bad at everything."

"Hard to believe." the girl muttered sarcastically.

"Fine, I guess I'll your grandmother that you never apologized." Garfield said evilly.

"You know for an idiot, you're pretty good at being an evil genius." she said stiffly.

"Thanks. Now do we have a deal or what?" the boy said, extending his arm out. Eyeing it, she took his hand with a sigh and nodded her head. Garfield smiled and released her hand before shoving his hands became into his pockets.

"So...who's that Darwin guy you were talking about?"

"We have a lot to work on." Rachael groaned.

[][][][][][][][][][][][]

Rachael, Jenny, Karen and Kori were all sitting on Jenny's porch, exchanging bits of gossip they had heard that day (Johnny's brain cancer was in remission, Noelle went off the deep end and landed herself in the psych ward again and Bonnie had exploded something in the science lab) Rachael, however, was not talking and instead was revising one of Garfield's papers.

"You're still doing that?" Jenny complained, as Rachael highlighted something.

"What can I say? The guy's a moron." Rachael replied, rolling her eyes. Karen snorted.

"You're goin way too easy on him. Moron can't even describe Garfield Logan." she scoffed as Kori nodded.

"Yes, he is most empty headed." the upbeat girl said, flipping through a magazine.

"Well, it's the only way I can keep him from tattling on me and it could be worse." Rachael shrugged.

"True. But really, who spells 'thesis' wrong?" Jenny shouted, pointing to one of the many high lighted areas of the paper.

"Garfield Logan, apparently." Karen answered. To that, the girl received laughter from Jenny and Kori and a feeble one from Rachael too.

"So Jenny...you never finished telling us about Wally." Karen smirked. Jenny's face immediately flushed and she looked away from her group of friends.

"There's nothing to tell." she said quickly.

"Really? Cuz, I could have sworn I saw y'all behind the tree m-"

"Okay! That's really enough! Besides, why talk about me when we could talk about you and Victor." Jenny retorted. The African American girl didn't seem fazed by this, and instead smiled.

"Sure! We're doing great. Actually, we're going out next Friday. You and Wally should stop by." Karen noted proudly. Her smile faltered and she turned to Kori, realizing there was really nothing she could say that would bother Karen.

"So Kori, how's Dick?" Jenny said, the smile returning to her face. The tan girl's face turned bright red and shy smile formed on her face.

"Oh, I have not yet talked to him. I have been too nervous to approach Richard." Kori sighed. Once again, the pink haired girl's smile faltered.

"Hey Rae, how's-"

"_No one_. You of all people should know that." Rachael replied curtly, not bothering to look up from her papers.

"Oh come on girl. You gotta like someone!" Karen interjected.

"Please. My relationships with boys are completely platonic." Rachael replied.

"So you're a lesbian."

"That's not what I meant." Rachael said, glaring at Jenny.

"Please friends, stop doing the badgering of Rachael." Kori said, attempting to keep the peace.

"Nope." Jenny and Karen said in unison.

"How long has it been since your last boyfriend?" Jenny probed.

"What boyfriend?" Rachael mumbled, refusing to think about _him_.

"Oh, you know, _the one who broke your heart_?" Karen said, arching her eyebrow.

"I refuse to think about him. In fact, I've completely erased him from my memory. Much like you should." Rachael said curtly.

"It wasn't that bad." Jenny said, rolling her eyes. The thing about Jenny was that she had no empathy, a trait that Rachael always had. If she did have any empathy she wouldn't have said 'it wasn't that bad' and if she had any brains she would have stopped after 'hey Rae'.

"Really? After he used me, cheated on me and told the whole school about...everything. And it wasn't 'that bad'? Call me up when you learn how to emphasize with someone." Rachael said coldly, jumping up from her spot on the porch.

"Rachael! Come back! You know she didn't mean it!" Karen said hopelessly.

"She never does!" Rachael bit back, storming off into the street. Jenny had pushed her too far today, even by her standards. She knew about everything he did and yet she continued to bring it up.

_Him._ He had seemed so nice at the time. So handsome, so charming, so...perfect. It was a few years after Arella's funeral that they'd met. The two had pretty much hit it off and became close friends. He managed to do the impossible and break down the walls Rachael had built around herself. And then one day, they started dating. It was nice; like everything Rachael had ever read in the books. He came by often, he complimented her and said nothing but nice things to her. But proven time and time again, all good things must come to an end. He wanted to do things Rachael wasn't comfortable with, but not wanting to lose the best thing in her life at the time, she consented. It wasn't too long after that that he broke up with her and humiliated her by telling the whole school what she had done with him. The names and jeers hurt, but what hurt even more was the betrayal she felt. And from that day forward, Rachael had sworn off _all_ men.

[][][][][][][]

"Dude, I've got this in the bag!" Garfield said with glee as he plopped down on his bed. Right now, the teenager was on the phone with Victor, explaining his latest feat with Rachael. He could practically hear Victor panicking through the phone.

"So what? She agreed to tutor you; you had to blackmail her, dude." Victor said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. Was he really going to lose this bet?

"That means I can get closer to her. Duh. And you say I'm the moron." Garfield said with a roll of his eyes.

"Look, you only got 28 days left, so good luck." Victor said as he hung up the phone. Garfield shrugged and threw his phone on his bed, a happy smile on his face. If he hadn't been dancing near the window, he never would have noticed a clearly sad looking Rachael walking down the street, papers in her hands. An idea quickly formed in Garfield head and he headed down to his stoop, a bright smile on his face.

"Hey Rachael! Everything okay?" he said, the sulking girl looking up at him.

"Peachy, she responded dryly.

"Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm right here." he said, shocking Rachael. Garfield? Being nice? Was this a prank?

"I...uh...thanks?" Rachael replied, arching her eyebrows.

"I mean, it's just that you look upset." he continued.

"Me? Upset? You must be delusional." Rachael replied.

"Well, you can talk to me about it if you want."

"Yeah. Right. You'd just tell the entire school like-" Rachael quickly stopped and her eyes widened.

"Like...?"

"No one. Like no one. Goodnight Garfield." she said quickly, opening her door.

She was too close this time.

[][][][][][]

**What do you guys think about Teen Titans Go! Personally, I don't like it; it's kinda gross and not a good influence I think. I was watching it with my nephew and they legit died like it was nothing in the two episodes I saw. Not feelin it. **


	6. Australia

_Been alone since you were 21_

_You haven't laughed since January_

_You try and make this so much fun_

_But we know it to be quite contrary _

[][][][][]

Dodgeball. The bane of every non athletic student's existence. A whistle was held in the coach's mouth, both sides prepared for the storm that was brewing. Even though Rachael had proved time and time again that physical activities weren't her strong point, she was always the champion at dodgeball. Being small, nimble and cunning, she was usually able to easily bypass the flying red balls. Garfield on the other hand was ruthless; his tactics usually included pummeling people with the damn things until they ran off the court.

"And...GO!" the coach said, blowing her whistle. With that, everyone began picking up the bright red dodge balls and throwing them at the opposing team. After a few more grueling minutes of dodging and throwing, only Garfield and Rachael were left on the court.

"Alright Roth, ready to get beat?" Garfield challenged as Rachael stood there, arms crossed across her chest. Rolling her eyes, she impatiently tapped her foot on the ground.

"We haven't got all day." she chided, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Fine then. Let the games begin." Garfield said with a twisted smile, throwing the ball at top speed. Yawning with a small smile on her face, she dodged it quickly and threw another ball at him, nearly nicking his shoulder.

"HAH! You missed!" Garfield laughed, pointing his finger at her. During his little gloat, however, Rachael had picked up a dodgeball and pegged it at him, hitting him in the chest at full force.

"Looks like I win." Rachael said smugly as Garfield fell to the ground.

"What the fu...how did you...?"

"You really shouldn't gloat while I'm within throwing distance." Rachael smiled, walking past him. Victory really was sweet.

[][][][][][][]

Rachael was still on edge with Jenny, which was why she chose to go out for lunch rather than spending it at her usual table. Piling her books into her narrow locker, she grabbed the sweater that was on the hook and slammed it shut, $20 in her pocket. Thankfully it was sunny outside (was it ever not sunny?) and the nearest deli was only a few blocks away. Unfortunately for her, it was also Garfield's free period, something he had been looking forward to all day. He only had 28 more days left after all. Slipping through the people in the hallways, Rachael had finally made it to the front steps of the high school, only to be stopped by the devil himself.

"Hey Rachael! So, I've been thinking about it and I forgive you for throwing that dodgeball at me earlier." Garfield said as the dark haired girl rolled her eyes.

"I never apologized." Rachael said darkly, beginning to walk down the big steps.

"Let's just pretend that you did. Anyway, wanna get lunch or something? I wanna make the whole "bullied your for eleven years" up to you. Kinda. Not really. Let's just get lunch." Garfield rambled, Rachael growing more impatient.

"How about no, seeing as that 'apology' wasn't even an apology. You suck at apologies by the way; just thought you should know that." Rachael said coldly, walking in the opposite direction as him. Unwilling to let his 28th day go to waste, he sped up to the dark girl, a nervous smile on his face.

"You're right; this time, I'm really sorry. Now come on." he said, grabbing her hands.

"Why do you want to go to lunch with me so badly? What, are you going to spill pig's blood on me as soon as I step through the door?" Rachael growled, snatching her hand from the relentless boy.

"You watched Carrie?"

"Read it. Would you answer the question?"

"Carrie was a book? Wow, never knew that. Not planning on reading, but interesting little fact." Garfield rambled, now distracted.

"Goodbye Logan." Rachael said, walking in the opposite direction.

"Huh? Wait! Come ooooonnnnnnnn! I won't leave you alone 'til you come with me." he whined.

"If you don't leave me alone, I swear to God, I'll kick you again; and I'll have no regrets." the girl hissed, making Garfield gulp nervously.

"Okay. I can see why you're hesitant, buuuuuut, I'm a changed man now." Rachael snickered at the word 'man' and Garfield shot her a glare.

"I promise, this isn't a joke; just me trying to make amends."

"I didn't even think you knew what the word "amend" meant." Rachael mused, not bothering to give him an answer.

"Well I'm going to take that vague answer for a yes! Let's go!" Garfield said excitedly, grabbing her hand. Dragging her down the road, Rachael stumbled to keep up, nearly falling as Garfield stopped short.

"What the hell is your problem?" she snapped, snatching her hand away and trying to balance herself. Without answering, he pointed to the sign above their heads. Subway. Rachael's eyes narrowed.

"Subway. You drag me all the way here for Subway?" she said flatly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Heheh, yeah. I only have three dollars, so you're kinda gonna have to chip in too." he said nervously.

"I don't even know why..." she sighed, face palming.

"Well, come on. I can't hold this door open all day; it's hot!"

"It's always hot Logan; we live in California."

"Gee, didn't know that Roth." he said sarcastically, mocking her deadpan voice.

"Very funny. You know what'd be funnier? If I left." she said in the same style, turning around.

"Okay no! I take it back! I take it back!" he said. Pursed lips, she stared at the door before finally sighing.

"Pay me back later." she said quietly, turning back around. Garfield smiled to himself; this would be the easiest $50 he ever made.

[][][][][][][][]


	7. Blister in the Sun

**Sorry about the delay, I've been busy with college visits **

**[][][][][][]**

"And that is why I don't eat meat." Garfield said proudly as Rachael rubbed her temples in annoyance. Barely 10 minutes with the guy and she was already getting a headache.

"That's an incredibly stupid reason." Rachael replied flatly, picking at the sandwich in front of her. The boy gave her a hurt glance and she rolled her eyes.

"What? How?"

"Think about it; you stopped eating meat to defy your parents. Just let that sink in." Rachael returned cooly. For a second, an annoyed look crossed Garfield's face. However a split second later it was replaced by a cheeky smile. Rolling her eyes, Rachael wiped her hands on one of the paper napkins she had gathered.

"Can I leave now? I don't want to be late for my class." she said flatly.

"You never want to be late for anything."

"You shouldn't want to. Obviously." Rachael replied, rolling her eyes. Garfield raised his hands up in defeat.

"Fine. Fine, whatever." he said passively, surprising the dark haired would have expected a bigger fuss from him. Hm. Odd. Very odd. Instead of complaining, she happily grabbed her jacket and slipped out the door, Garfield following behind her.

"Sooooo, about that tutoring thing..." he began, leading Rachael to sigh.

"Of course."

"When do you plan to come over, cuz apparently, I'm failing English." Garfield said. To that, Rachael stopped in her tracks.

"Wait. How the hell are you failing English?! It's your damn language for god's sake!" she demanded, squinting her eyes.

"I dunno! I guess I just don't care about "pronouns" and "verbs" or whatever." Garfield said simply, rolling his eyes.

"You've go to be kidding me." she scoffed, pressing her bag into her shoulder.

"Well, whatever. When can you come over?" Garfield pressed, raising suspicion in Rachael.

"Are you sure there's not going to be a bucket of pig's blood rigged to fall on my head once I step through your door?" Rachael questioned, raising her eyebrow. The lanky boy groaned and nodded.

"Come on. I'm a man now-don't you dare give me that look- and I promise; no pig's blood."

[][][][][][][][][][]

This was bad. This was very, very bad. Somehow, that little moron can convinced Rachael to tutor him after school. Victor knew that his chances of winning now were severely damaged. On the phone with him was Garfield, boasting about his latest victory with the dark haired girl.

"How did you even manage to do that man?" Victor exclaimed in shock once he heard the news. Whatever he had done, he was starting to wrap Rachael around his little finger. But Victor refused to let one hundred dollars go to Garfield. Refused.

"Dude. She's only doing it cuz you blackmailed her." Victor said, hiding the nervousness in his voice.

"No! We went to lunch and everything!"

"Who paid?"

"She did, but that means NOTHING, man." Garfield returned over the phone quickly. Victor smiled to himself. All he had to do was keep pressing the little guy.

"Well look at that; you just gave her another reason to hate you." There was silence over the phone followed by a loud crash. Victor muted the phone and began to laugh manically, enjoying the taste of a small victory.

"I'm gonna have to call you back...accidentally broke something." Garfield said, clicking END before Victor could even say goodbye. No harm done, in fact, you could say Victor was helping Rachael out. After all, if Garfield lost the bet, the poor girl's heart wouldn't have to be broken. It wasn't like someone wasn't getting hurt in the process; Rachael definitely was. The poor girl had it bad as it already is, imagine being played by one of the popular guys at school. But hey, a hundred bucks is a hundred bucks.

[][][][][][][][][]

"Adjectives are?"

"I dunno...nouns?" Garfield said, honestly struggling. Rachael sighed and shock her head.

"No. Adjectives are what define nouns."

"What the fuck."

"Cursing's not cool, Logan." Rachael said mockingly.

"Neither are you."

"Well, at least we know you can properly form sentences." Rachael replied dryly.

"Oh nice one." Garfield said sarcastically.

"Thanks, I know." Rachael replied. Tapping his pencil rapidly, Garfield stared down at the paper, as if just staring at it would make him understand. Unfortunately, this is not a disney movie and such knowledge could not be attained simply by staring at a piece of paper all night long.

"Okay, we have a lot to work on." Rachael sighed.

[][][][][][][][][]


	8. Strange Times

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Rachael had never been much of a fan of the sun. Scowling, Rachael hurried to close her blinds and rid herself of the blinding sunshine that was beginning to creep into her room. Although it was only a Saturday, Rachael was up at six o'clock in the morning, purely out of habit. The dark haired teenager made her way to her dresser and pulled out a comfortable pair of pants and sweater. As she did every Saturday morning, Rachael was preparing to take her usual morning walk to the place where she felt most safe: her mother's gravestone. What had started as small coping strategy had turned into a ritualistic pilgrimage that the teen took every Saturday. It was Rachael's way of honoring her mother's memory.

Shoving her keys into her pocket, Rachael tiptoed down the stairs and past her grandmother's bedroom. As much as she had loved her daughter, Rachael's grandmother found her walks to be counter effective and thought they made moving on for Rachael virtually impossible. The dark haired girl quietly closed the door behind her as she made her way down her stoop and to the corner. The graveyard where Arella was buried wasn't too far away from Rachael's house and she was forever grateful for that.

Unfortunately for Rachael a certain blonde haired boy had woken up and happened to glance by his window and see Rachael pass by.

'_This is my chance!' _he thought excitedly to himself, hurrying to throw on a pair of pants. Racing out of his room as he tied his shoes, Garfield quickly ran outdoors and watched as Rachael turned around a corner. Not wanting to be noticed, Garfield decided to follow her from a distance; after all, he couldn't have her thinking he was a total creep.

Garfield followed Rachael as she turned corners and headed down alleyways. After a few more minutes of walking, Rachael had finally reached her destination: Azarathian Graveyard. Even more curious than before, Garfield kept behind Rachael as she made her way past numerous headstones. Finally, Rachael approached a simple headstone with a small bouquet of flowers laid out before it. She got on her knees and kneeled at the headstone before sitting pretzel style and holding her hands out.

"Hi mom." Garfield heard her say feebly. It was such a small voice in comparison to her normal voice that Garfield almost forgot this was –the- Rachael Roth.

"I miss you so much, mother." Garfield heard her choke out. Garfield had almost forgotten that Rachael's mother passed away. It'd been so long ago and so irrelevant in Garfield's life, he never really thought about how it affected Rachael. Seeing her cry at her mother's headstone almost made him feel guilty about all that he had done to her. Almost.

The sound of boots stepping against the wet grass snapped Garfield out of his thoughts and he watched as Rachael stood up set dusted her clothing off. Garfield couldn't see her eyes from where he was standing, but he could tell she had been crying.

'_Aw shit she'd heading in my direction.'_ Garfield thought to himself, panicking. The blonde boy tried to quickly leave before she noticed, but Rachael, being the acumen girl she was, recognized him right away.

"Garfield?!" Rachael exclaimed, walking closer to him. "Did you follow me here?" She asked angrily. This was the one place Rachael felt truly safe and happy, and now Garfield was here messing it up as usual.

"Well aren't you rude! I mean, clearly, I'm here to visit…uhh…Jerry…Vargas' grave!" Garfield said, nodding his head vigorously. Rachael rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"Really? Jerry Vargas? And who was he to you, exactly?" Rachael questioned as she crossed her arms around her chest.

"Uh…he was, uhhh, my uncle! Yes, he was my uncle. By marriage. To my….Aunt? Heart attacks, man, scary stuff!" Garfield said, laughing nervously.

"Wow, that's so funny Logan, because I've passed by that grave stone for years and I could have sworn he was an ordained priest." Rachael replied, narrowing her eyes.

"Hah! Well, haha, Uncle Jerry was uh… never the commitments kinda guy! I should probably get going!" Garfield said, backing away from Rachael.

"Riiiight. Well, the next time you want to lie, try not to be so extravagant, okay?" Rachael said, rolling her eyes and she walked past Garfield.

"You got it! I MEAN, uh, You got it? It as in some sunscreen, because, whew, is it just me or is it toasty today? No? Just me?" Garfield said weakly as Rachael walked away from him.

"She still digs me." Garfield said to himself, smiling as Rachael walked away.

**[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]**

"I'm telling you Kori, something weird is going on with that boy." Rachael sighed as she laid across her soft bed. To say Garfield's appearance has shocked her was an understatement. She knew he was cruel but was he really cruel enough to stalk her at her own mother's resting place?

"Yes! He was right there! You don't think he was trying to do something, do you?" Rachael replied. She had been on the phone discussing her morning with Kori ever since she got back. Even the lighthearted foreign girl had to admit that Garfield's sudden appearance at the graveyard was creepy.

"Yeah, I'm going to be keeping an eye at him. Anyway, have fun at the mall Kori." Rachael said before pressing 'end' on their phone call. Rachael sighed again and sat up on her bed, still wondering what Garfield's deal was. As if on cue, Rachael's grandmother called for her granddaughter downstairs.

"Rae! The Logan boy is over here asking about tutoring!" her grandmother called, probably just as surprised as she was. Rachael had to admit, she was impressed. After all, she'd figured he'd quit with the tutoring after one day. Pursing her lips, Rachael leapt up from her bed and bounded downstairs, curious as to why Garfield was still bothering her about the tutoring.

"Hey, Rae!" The blonde boy said once Rachael reached the door.

"First of all, do not call me Rae. Second of all, what are you doing here?" she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Rach, I'm hurt; don't you remember? You said you'd keep tutoring me." Garfield said innocently. Rachael narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief.

"You were serious?" she replied, still shocked that Beast Boy was even thinking about academics on a Saturday.

"Would I ask you if I wasn't? I mean, I HATE school! I'm totally serious about the tutoring. My mom's gonna kill me if I get another C in English!" Garfield said smoothly. So the part about his mother might have been a lie. What Rachael didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Thinking it over for a moment, Rachael stared at him before sighing and nodding.

"Fine, just…wait there and let me get some proper clothes on okay?" Rachael responded reluctantly.

"Aye, aye cap'n!" Garfield said, grinning, as Rachael headed upstairs again. As far as Garfield was concerned, that $100 was as good as his.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

The unlikely duo had ended up at the library, where Rachael was currently trying to teach Garfield about the plot of Macbeth.

"So, personally, I'd say Macbeth's greatest downfall is his overconfidence. But that's just me." Rachael said as a bored Garfield looked on.

"You're not even paying attention, are you?" Rachael sighed as Garfield looked at her, hurt.

"I'm paying more attention to you then I do Mr. Huston in English class!" Garfield fired back, sitting up straight in his chair as he responded to the raven-haired beauty.

"I'd have a much easier time believing you if you acted like it." Rachael sighed, closing her textbook.

"I think that's it for today; obviously you aren't retaining much anyway." Rachael said, shoving her books into her bookbag. Garfield, panicking, quickly grabbed Rachael's bag and laughed nervously.

"Wait, Rachael. You're right I'm not paying attention; we should totally do something else instead! Like… go see Zombie Invaders 4?" Garfield asked as he released Rachael's book bag. The raven-haired teenager was confused; was Garfiled asking her to go somewhere? With him?

"Is this a joke or some stupid prank or something?" Rachael spit out, remembering all of Garfield's past pranks. The blonde haired boy quickly shook his head and smiled genuinely at Rachael.

"Of course not! Can't you trust me Rae?" Ignoring the use of the nickname 'Rae', Rachael snorted.

"Oh yeah, I can totally trust you after the time you broke my arm, the time you smashed my science project into pieces and oh, who can forget the time you stole my clothes after gym?" she retorted, snatching her bag from his hands again.

Garfield suddenly felt a twinge in his heart. Was that… was that remorse he was feeling? Of course he had felt remorse before but… never for the things he had done to Rachael. If anything, the pranks he pulled made him feel happy, but hearing Rachael suddenly made him feel…guilty.

"Wait, Rachael. I'm sorry, I really am. Can we start over? Please?" Garfield said sincerely, extending his arm. Rachael bit her lip. If there was one thing she was good at, it was reading emotions and Garfield seemed as if he was genuinely sorry for the things he had done to her. Sighing, Rachael took his hand in hers and shook.

"Fine, but this doesn't mean I've forgotten everything you've done to me." Rachael responded, pulling her hand away from Garfield's lingering one. The jokester perked up and smiled at the black haired girl.

"Of course not! Let's get going to the movies!" Garfield said excitedly.

[][][][][][][]


	9. Call It What You Want

[][][][][][][][]

_You've taken your words and you take your judgments_

_And stick them onto everything_

_If it don't conform to what you were born into,_

_Then you run the other way_

_You say, "now what's your style and who do you listen to?" who cares?_

_Well that rat race ladder-climbing fake-face smile's got nothing on me_

[][][][][][][][][][]

"This is the worst movie I've ever seen." Rachael muttered with a roll of her eyes. She and Garfield were currently watching the newest addition to the Zombie Invaders series at the multiplex downtown.

"Are you kidding?! This is a cinematic masterpiece!" Garfield whispered heatedly, as the zombies on screen were blown to bits.

"Now that's just sad." Rachael replied, covering her eyes as more zombies were blown up on screen.

"No way…Are you scared?!" Garfield exclaimed excitedly as watched Rachael close her eyes again.

"Me? Afraid? Don't be silly." Rachael replied nervously, refusing to look up at the screen.

"You're afraid! –The- Rachael Roth is afraid of zombies?!" Garfield laughed as Rachael began to blush.

"I'm not afraid, I just detest violence." Rachael said stubbornly while Garfield continued to laugh.

"Come on Rae, if you're really scared, we can leave." Garfield replied gingerly. Rachael paused. Since when did he care about what she felt? When did he become…nice?

"Okay, sure." Rachael said as she grabbed the bucket of popcorn next to her and exited the theatre with Garfield trailing behind her. A sense of relief crashed over her as she entered the brightly lit entrance.

"So Rae, what do you want to do now?" Garfield asked, running his hands through his blonde hair.

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Come on Rachael, it's a nickname." Garfield replied, a bright smile on his face. Rachael, on the other hand was not so amused.

"Your usual nickname for me is Goth Girl or loser." Rachael replied, rolling her eyes.

"Aw Rae come on, I thought we forgave each other." Garfield said, as Rachael began to walk in the opposite direction.

"I have to nothing to apologize for, so no we didn't forgive each other. And anyway, what do you mean 'what do you want to do'? I thought the movie would suffice." Rachael said, placing his hands on her hips.

"Welllllllllll, we didn't finish the movie. So, technically is doesn't…whatever suffice means." Garfield said triumphantly as he caught up to Rachael. The dark haired teenager rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But it better not be another stupid movie." Rachael said, sighing. She couldn't believe she was actually agreeing to spend time with Garfield.

"Don't worry, I know the most perfect place!" Garfield replied with a cheeky grin.

[][][][][][][][][]

"I can't believe this." Rachael said as Garfield dragged her through the gates of Jump City Zoo. Garfield just smiled and dragged his dark haired companion along, excited to be inside.

"Believe it! The Zoo is the best place in this city!" Garfield replied as Rachael snatched her arm out of his grasp.

"Agree to disagree." Rachael retorted dryly. Garfield sighed and shook his head.

"Come on Rae. Stop being so negative and just have fun! With me! Here! At the most glorious place on this planet." Garfield replied. Rachael sighed. He did have a point. While she was here with the most insufferable person she could think of, at least she was doing something.

"Okay. Fine." Rachael relented, walking next to Garfield as he began walking to the monkey exhibition.

"Great job Rae! Doesn't it feel good to have fun every once in a while?"

"I'll tell you once I actually start having fun." The black haired teenager uttered. Unfazed by her comment, Garfield smiled and stared in awe at the monkeys in their exhibit.

"So why do you like the zoo so much anyway?" Rachael implored, moving alongside her companion as they made their way between exhibits. The blonde haired boy bit his lip for a moment before smiling and looking up at Rachael.

"My parents loved animals. We used to go on safaris all the time and zoos sort of feel like home to me." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't understand; is Rita not your mother?" Garfield looked at Rachael uncomfortably before nodding.

"She's my adopted mom. My real parents died on one of those safaris." He said quietly. Rachael was shocked. She hadn't realized he was adopted. Sure, Rita looked nothing like Garfield, but she never assumed it was because his real parents were dead.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. My mom's not alive either…but you already knew that." Rachael said softly as the two passed the zebra habitat. Garfield shrugged.

"It's cool. They died when I was young and Rita's been a great mom…but speaking of your family…what happened to your dad?" Garfield asked. He had always been curious as to why he never saw a man at Rachael's house. It was almost as if he didn't exist.

Rachael stiffened. Her father was a whole other store. One she would rather not tell anyone. The dark haired girl had even been reluctant to tell Kori about him, let alone her former worst enemy.

Wait. Former?

"I don't want to talk about him." Rachael said coldly, shoving her hands into her pockets. Rachael had worked hard to distance herself as far away from her father as she possibly could. After what had happened, she didn't even want to take the chance of mentioning his name and who he really was.

"Okay! I'll get it out of you some day!" Garfield laughed, running his hands through his hair again.

"Trust me; you won't." Rachael replied, rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure, Rae?" Garfield said mischievously.

"I'm 100% positive." She said stiffly, narrowing her eyes at the lanky blonde. He nervously chuckled and raised his hands in defeat.

"Alright Rachael, whatever you say. Are you hungry? We could totally eat if you are." Garfield asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Hmmm…as long as it's not tofu…sure." Rachael replied, laughing quietly. Garfield smiled wide and turned to his companion.

"Did I…did I just make you laugh? Oh man, I can't believe this! Rachael Roth is laughing!" Garfield said excitedly, as Rachael smirked.

"Don't get used to it, Logan."

"Whatever you say, Roth."

[][][][][][][][]

**Physics is hard and I've only been in school for four days. **


End file.
